The LaPlata County Sheriff’s Office issued an unusual press release today about the perils of police work when people have common (or slightly common) names.

The release – titled Complications Of Having The Same Name As Others – follows an announcement Tuesday about a man named Dennis Snodgrass being shot in the chest near Ignacio. Apparently, Dennis Snodgrass of Hesperus got some calls from alarmed friends and family. (Who knew the Snodgrass clan was so prevalant in SW Colorado)? The Hesperus Snodgrass called police to report he “was not shot, felt fine, but was getting a lot of calls asking about his well being.”

The occurrence isn’t so unusual, PIO Dan Bender said in his press release.

“The last time I looked, there were at least three Dan Benders living in the area.” Someone once told me they didn’t know I could play a guitar and sing but they loved my cd. I didn’t know I could play a guitar either.” Bender said. “It was one of the other Dan Benders.”

The rest of the release touches on the more serious side of the problem – and the advantages of being named Moonbeam Zappa:

Law enforcement officers go to great lengths before arresting someone when a computer check shows a warrant for them. They will confirm first, middle, and last name, as well as date of birth, physical description, home address. They will also request a check to see if the warrant is still valid.

Even after close scrutiny, there can be confusion when names are shared. Bender arrested a man several years ago who matched the first, middle, last name, date of birth, height and weight listed in the warant. The man was finally released when it was determined he did not have the tattoos listed on a previous arrest record for the actual suspect.

Besides a coincidental sharing of a name, Bender said Identity Theft can result in a suspect using the name of another person and the victim of the ID theft being named as a suspect.

“Former boxer George Foreman has several sons who are all named George Foreman and when young, they all shared the same address.” Bender said. “Hopefully none of them got in trouble to cause difficulties for their other brothers”. “I guess there are some advantages to having your parents name you Moonbeam Zappa” Bender said.